1 TAXI MARSHALS

1.1 A number of Local Authorities have introduced Taxi Marshals. Detailed below are examples of some of the Taxi Marshal Schemes in operation:

OXFORD CITY COUNCIL - TAXI MARSHAL SCHEME

1.2 Oxford City Council (OCC) has implemented a Taxi Marshal Scheme at various Taxi ranks in the City Centre. OCC states that Marshals have proven to be highly effective in towns and cities in reducing illegal 'pick ups', controlling taxi queues, improving the safety of vulnerable persons and dealing with confrontational situations.

1.3 OCC reports that confrontation can occur when Private Hire drivers operate illegally by touting for business more commonly known as 'plying for hire', stop to pick up fares in 'no stopping areas' causing obstruction or operate without a valid licence. It is the responsibility of the Taxi Marshals to prevent such activity and report offenders so that legal action may be brought against those persons.

1.4 It goes on to report that confrontation may also occur when individuals or groups of people behave in an unsociable manner in taxi queues. OCC notes that this type of behaviour has to be defused quickly in order to prevent violence and public disorder. Such disorder in a taxi queue can result in anything from physical assault to a road traffic accident if not controlled.

1.5 The Taxi Marshals work closely with the Licensing Authority, Thames Valley Police and the City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association (COLTA), in order to ensure the efficient running of the operation. They are able to communicate any problems that they witness via the Radio-Link scheme to the CCTV Control Room. OCC reports that as Taxi Marshals are the 'eyes and ears' of the Licensing Authority and the Police and can play a vital role in the reduction of crime.

1.6 Oxford City Council - Duties of a Taxi Marshal:

- Wear the high visibility jacket provided by Oxford City Council at all times during shift.

- Have an understanding of the difference between a Taxi (Hackney Carriage Vehicle) and a Private Hire Vehicle, so as to ensure that only Hackney Carriage Vehicles licensed by Oxford City Council access the rank, and an understanding of the conditions, criteria and regulations regarding the licensing of drivers and vehicles with the Licensing Authority.

- Be responsible for a queuing system on the rank and match passenger number to Hackney Carriage Vehicles (Black Cabs).

- Have an understanding of the local taxi tariff in order to provide advice to the general public.

- Ensure that lone females, vulnerable persons or persons accompanied by children are adequately supervised.

- Advise any Private Hire Drivers of Private Hire Vehicles that may be waiting nearby without a booking to move on, as their actions constitute “plying for hire”, and to note the details of the vehicle make, model, colour and licence plate and if possible the Private Hire Driver badge number in their note pad.

- Prevent conflicts from arising on the rank and between the general public and taxi drivers by ensuring order and providing conflict management.

- Ensure that every driver that pulls up at the rank is displaying his or her Hackney Carriage Driver “badge”, identifying such a person as being licensed by Oxford City Council.

- Pass the details of any Taxi Driver who behaves in a manner that gives cause for concern, to the Licensing Authority or an officer of Thames Valley Police as soon as possible, including name, date and badge number.

- Have an understanding of drivers rights to:

  (i) Refuse fares where they have a reasonable excuse. (ii) Set the price of a fare prior to departing if the journey takes them beyond the City boundary.

- Have an understanding that when attempting to enter a licensed vehicle, that passengers must:

  (i) Not be excessively drunk (ii) Not be violent (iii) Not be abusive (iv) Not eat (v) Not drink (vi) Not smoke (vii) Know their destination and relay such information to the driver (viii) Have the required finances to pay for the journey.

- Use the Radio-Link appropriately to communicate with officers of Thames Valley Police and other Security Staff 1.7 Code of Practice for its Taxi Marshal Scheme

Objective of Scheme

Ensure the safety of passengers and their property whilst queuing and on entering taxis.

Ensure the safety of taxi drivers and prevention of damage to vehicles by physical methods or by soiling from food and drink.

To manage taxi rank queues to enable a fair system of boarding to be imposed.

To encourage passengers and taxi drivers to use ranks in the city centre at peak times.

To deter crime and anti-social behaviour at taxi ranks covered by the scheme.

Operation of Scheme

All designated ranks covered by the scheme will operate with Taxi Marshals present continuously between the hours of 22:30 hrs and 04:30 hrs the following day. The contract specifies that this service shall be provided as a minimum every Friday and Saturday throughout the year. Additional service provision may be provided on an ‘ad hoc’ basis on other dates by arrangement.

Staffing

All Taxi Marshals are required to be in possession of a valid SIA [Security Industry Authority] licence. Minimum levels of staffing have been agreed as follows:

| Total Number of Taxi Marshals on duty | 14 | |--------------------------------------|----| | on a Friday | | | on a Saturday | 16 |

Drinks

Passengers to be requested to wait until they have finished open drinks, before entering a taxi, or empty the drink and place the container in the waste bin provided.

Alcohol must be emptied out and not drunk in or around the ranks, in accordance with the alcohol bylaw.

Glass and glass bottles must be put in the bottle bin provided, in accordance with the Council’s glass policy. Food

Passengers to be requested to wait until they finish any open food, before entering a taxi, or place it in the waste bin provided.

Closed food packages are acceptable, but passengers should be requested to leave it closed until they are out of the taxi at their destination.

Fares

Marshals are not to become involved in fare negotiations. Any fare disputes should be reported by the passenger or the driver to the City Council’s nominated representative on the next working day.

Operational Problems

Any other problems e.g. refusal to take passengers, wheelchair access, taxi sharing, are not the direct responsibility of the marshals but marshals are expected to offer appropriate advice. Such incidents should be reported as above to the numbers and address provided.

Uniforms and Equipment

Each team of marshals on every rank will be issued with a radio connected to the “nitenet” system. This will enable them to contact each other and request assistance from the City Council CCTV control room, which are also able to access Police assistance. These radios will be provided by the City Council.

Each marshal should be equipped with a pocket book, a personal first aid kit and a torch.

Marshals will wear a ‘red team’ uniform, which will include the City Council’s insignia and the words ‘Taxi Marshall’ on the back. These will be provided at the Contractors own expense.

Marshal Behaviour

There should be no physical contact, between the marshals and passengers or drivers, other than the minimum required to enable the rank to function.

Marshals will be polite, advisory and non-confrontational in what may be a difficult situation.

Marshals must always summon assistance if problems of a physical nature arise or a situation becomes threatening.

Marshals must not put themselves or the public at risk.

Marshals should be observant at all times and make contemporaneous notes of any incidents or offences. Marshals will be expected to co-operate with City Council and Police enquiries and investigations and act as reliable witnesses in such cases.

**Survey Forms**

To be handed to drivers and passengers as requested by the City Council.

**EXCLUDEC SECURITY SYSTEMS LIMITED, MANCHESTER**

1.8 Exclusec Security Systems Limited (ESSL) reports that Taxi Marshals have been proven to be highly effective in towns and cities across the UK in reducing illegal ‘pick ups’, controlling taxi queues, improving the safety of vulnerable persons and dealing with confrontational situations.

1.9 ESSL goes on to state that confrontation can occur when individuals or groups of people behave in an unsociable manner in taxi queues. This type of behaviour has to be defused quickly in order to prevent violence and public disorder. Such disorder in a taxi queue can result in anything from physical assault to a road traffic accident if not controlled.

1.10 ESSL states that the Taxi Marshals work closely with the Licensing Authority, Police and other agencies, in order to ensure the efficient running of the operation. Taxi Marshals are able to communicate any problems that they witness via the NiteNet Radio scheme to the CCTV Control Room.

1.11 It is reported that all Taxi Marshals employed by Exclusec are vetted to BS7858:2012 and hold a valid SIA license (minimum Door Supervision). In addition, they receive further training including Emergency First Aid, Customer Service, Conflict Management and Physical Intervention.

1.12 Exclusec Taxi Marshal Duties include:

- Ensuring the safety of passengers and their property whilst queuing and on entering taxis.
- Ensuring the safety of taxi drivers and prevention of damage to vehicles by physical methods or by soiling from food and drink.
- To manage taxi rank queues to enable a fair system of boarding.
- To deter crime and anti-social behaviour at taxi ranks covered by the service.
- To ensure that lone females, vulnerable persons or persons accompanied by children are adequately supervised.
- To refuse fares where there is a reasonable excuse.
- To utilise NiteNet Radio (or equivalent) to report any criminal activity including street crime to CCTV Control, Police and the Local Authority.

1.13 Exclusec Taxi Marshals undergo the following training:

- Level 2 Award in Door Supervision (for SIA licensed staff)
- Conflict Management
- Physical Intervention Skills
- Company Induction Programme
- Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Spectator Safety ST HELIER, JERSEY, TAXI MARSHAL SCHEME – Q SAFE

1.14 The reported aim of the Q-Safe scheme is to make the taxi queues at the St Helier Weighbridge taxi rank orderly and safe and to prevent queue jumping by having marshals supervising the queues. St Helier informs that this helps to reduce associated disorder and anti-social behaviour, which in turn helps residents and visitors feel safer.

1.15 The Q-Safe taxi marshal scheme was set up following discussions between the Safer St Helier Community Group and the Jersey Taxi Drivers Association. It is funded through advertising in the taxis.

DERBY CITY COUNCIL

1.16 It is stated that Taxi marshals have been working at key hackney carriage ranks in the City centre on Friday and Saturday evenings between 10.30 pm and 3.30 am since April 2007. Their main role is to assist members of the public to leave the city centre efficiently and safely by managing key hackney ranks, particularly in Friar Gate. Typically, the marshals help some 4000 taxi customers each weekend.

1.17 Since the scheme started in 2007, it is reported that Taxi Marshals have had a significant impact in reducing disorder around taxi ranks, working closely with the Police and Taxi Licensing Enforcement Officers. Their value has been recognised by all parties – taxi drivers, customers, police, local businesses and licensing officers. The success of the Taxi Marshals scheme (along with Street Pastors) has recently been further recognised by a prestigious safety award for Derby.

1.18 It is reported that the scheme, which has been co-ordinated by the Community Safety Partnership (CSP), has operated using short-term funding streams but these will no longer be available from April 2010 and it is stated that concern was expressed that the scheme would not be able to operate beyond the end of March 2010. In April 2010 it was reported that the annual cost of the scheme was approximately £44k. The scheme is currently still in operation and the Licensing Officer at Derby City Council confirmed that the scheme is jointly funded between the City Council and Derbyshire Police. The Licensing Officer confirmed that the Scheme is run by an external security company.

NUNEATION AND BEDWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL – TAXI RANK AND MARSHAL SERVICE

1.19 Approval was granted by the Licensing Committee on 7 October 2013 for a six month trial period of the Taxi Marshal Scheme. Implementation was delayed due to zoning issues which were subsequently resolved and the pilot commenced on the 8th December 2014. 1.20 Taxi Marshals are employed to work between the hours of 23:30 – 04:00 Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and certain specified days such as New Year’s Eve.

1.21 It is reported that members of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Community Safety Partnership (NABSCOP) including Warwickshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner were supportive of the introduction of a Taxi Marshal Scheme to reduce the incidence of Anti-Social Behaviour and Violence in the night-time economy.

1.22 Funding of approximately £15,000 was secured to operate the Taxi Marshal Service on a trial basis. It is reported that this finance was a commitment from Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Warwickshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for a pilot project only, with an intention to explore longer term funding commitments based on successful outcomes.

1.23 It is further reported that the part-time Taxi Rank and Marshal Service was evaluated by using two strands of data:

- Statistical data provided by Warwickshire Observatory
- Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

1.24 Monthly baseline data was collated from April 2011 to March 2015 for both Anti-Social Behaviour Incidents and Violence against the Person Offences. It was acknowledged that this showed a reduction in the number of both offence types during the evaluated period of December 2014 to March 2015 compared to the previous three years for the same period.

1.25 The evaluation also included surveys to licensing premises and the Taxi Trade. 89.3% of respondents from the Taxi Trade felt that the scheme enabled a more efficient collection of passengers.

1.26 Funding of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Scheme:

£15,000 of funding was secured by interested parties; up to the 29 April 2015 expenditure for the Taxi Marshal Service equates to £7,362 which covers a four month period. Should approval for the extension of the pilot to January 2016 be granted, the balance of the earmarked funding of £7,638 is available to be applied to support this extension.

1.27 Reported breakdown of funding required to extend the Scheme to January 2016 is as follows:

Total cost required from May 2015 – January 2016 ……… £12,528 Minus Remaining Monies ........................................... -£7,638 Shortfall to January 2016 ........................................... £4,890 CASE STUDY – TAXI MARSHAL

1.28 A case study, as detailed below, was provided in the Local Government Association Handbook - Taxi and PHV Licensing – Councillors’ Handbook (England and Wales):

**Taxi Marshals: Watford Borough Council**

Since 2005, taxi drivers servicing the late night economy in Watford, Hertfordshire have benefited from a taxi marshal scheme.

On three nights of the week – and other identified occasions – two taxi marshals work on the Rickmansworth Road rank, getting passengers in an orderly queue. Passengers who are excessively drunk, are eating or smoking, appear to be violent, don’t know their destination or don’t have enough money for their fare are refused carriage.

A third marshal at a remote feeder rank is radioed when more taxis are needed at the main rank.

The scheme is not cheap, and taxi drivers have been reluctant to contribute. Over the years, funding has principally come from licensed premises who make annual contributions, and grants from Hertfordshire County Council – who also fund taxi marshals in five other towns in the county. Money has also been obtained from Watford Borough Council, the Safer Watford Partnership, and from the Home Office’s now-defunct Tackling Violent Crime programme.

An independent study by The Centre for Public Innovation in April 2008 found that: “Stakeholders agreed that the taxi marshal schemes were having a positive impact on both anti-social behaviour and certain crimes – although they were unable to quantify the extent of the impact. They also noted that the taxi marshal schemes played an important role in influencing perceptions of the night-time economies, sending out a clear message that councils were listening and responding to residents’ concerns about the effects of the night-time economies.”

Licensing Manager Jeffrey Leib says: “The scheme is generally welcome by many participants in our night-time economy. We have enhanced drivers’ safety even further with marshals using CCTV and recording passengers’ details before they get into a cab, to reduce the risk of attacks on drivers while en route.”

Author: Tracy Tiff, Scrutiny Officer, on behalf of Councillor Gareth Eales, Chair, Scrutiny Panel 3 Effectiveness of Enforcement of Licensing Policy in respect of taxis and private hire

3 November 2015